Jerry Cannon - US Congress, Michigan

Jerry Cannon brings experience and name recognition to his second run for Congress, having run in 2014, against a Republican incumbent who is now retiring.

Jerry knows how to run successfully for office as he was elected four times as the Sheriff of Kalkaska County, Michigan.

It is important that Jerry receive early financial support; because he faces a pro-choice primary opponent Lon Johnson, a former state party chair. The state primary is August 2, 2016.

Although Lon Johnson will be able to raise money due to his party connections, Jerry Cannon’s values better represent Michigan’s 1st Congressional District, formerly held by Congressman Bart Stupak.

Jerry's Military and Political Experience

A Vietnam veteran, Jerry served as a Major General in the Michigan Army National Guard and was deployed multiple times around the world, including tours in Iraq. After serving as Marine in Vietnam, Jerry joined the Army National Guard in 1977, retiring in 2012. Using the GI Bill, he earned a degree in Criminal Justice from University of Detroit in 1976.

Upon graduation, Jerry became a police officer, then a detective and eventually became Sheriff of Kalkaska County, Michigan. Jerry won election four times, retiring in 2004 in order to focus on deployments to Cuba and Iraq.

Cannon has served as a member of the Kalkaska Memorial Health Center Board of Trustees, chairman of the Garfield Township Parks and Recreation Committee, and a board member of the Northern Michigan Law Enforcement Training Group. Jerry and his wife, Elizabeth, live in Fife Lake, MI. Married for 45 years, Jerry and Liz are the parents of four children, including a son who served two tours in Afghanistan. They have seven grandchildren.

DFLA Mission Statement

Democrats For Life of America advocates and supports programs and policies that respect and promote life from conception to natural death. This includes, but is not limited to, opposition to abortion, capital punishment, and euthanasia. Learn more...